When it comes to loyalty to a business, 96% of customers agree that their customer journey with that business plays a big part in their decision. What are the contributing factors to the overall customer experience and how can businesses enhance the customer journey for each consumer? 

Well, let’s find out..

The three words you should remember when considering a customer’s journey with your business are: consistency, convenience and care. Because nearly 100% of consumers value the customer experience so much, businesses should regularly do a health check on their relationships with customers to ensure expectations are being met.

Consistency

How regularly is your business interacting with its customers? Keeping your relationships with customers consistent not only keeps your business at the forefront of their mind, but it also builds trust. Having a strong relationship with customers is what keeps them coming back and feeling like their experience with your business is positive. Interacting with customers can be through emails, texts, webchat or social media. No matter how you choose to communicate with your customers, keeping it regular and meaningful means you can check the consistency box!

Convenience

Convenience rules the world today. Amazon is the perfect example of how convenience is a strong driving force when it comes to where consumers do business. Why not have something delivered right to your door in 2 days, or less, just by clicking a couple buttons on your phone!? Small and local businesses, even those that are service-based, can learn a lot from this example of convenience. We can’t always predict when a consumer will have a need. Are they able to reach your business through text or webchat after-hours? Is there a way for customers to get immediate answers to their questions any time? Are your customers able to quickly find your business everywhere they are searching online? Is your business reachable through text message (the most preferred method of communication)? If you didn’t answer yes to all of these questions, don’t check the convenience box just yet! Instead, let’s get you all set up! 

Care

This is the most common of all the customer journey steps: customer care. Commonly called customer service, customer care means that your business is going above and beyond to listen to its customers and meet their needs. Customers expect to be heard and helped, and that’s why they call businesses in the first place. Once your customers feel comfortable with your business, continue customer care through strong communication and valuable interactions. 

96% of customers say customer experiences are what drives their decision to be loyal, or not, to a business. Maintaining a strong relationship with customers through personalized interactions, keeping your business available and reachable, even after hours, and caring for customers and their needs will keep your business top-of-mind. 

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!